Kefir grains in hemp milk? (or other non-dairy) Will they grow, or must I alternate with dairy milk?

[kcocat]

I'm switching from the body ecology starter, which I've used exclusively in coconut milk (not coconut water) and I've LOVED it in the coconut milk! However, all the commentary I read is that it won't grow in the coconut milk so you need to alternate between that and dairy milk.

We're on a casein free diet due to allergies (the milk proteins make my daughter and I quite ill - it's not the lactose, unfortunately...) So we really need to be able to culture non-dairy milks & I'd prefer to not have to buy dairy milk just to keep the culture going & rinse in-between. I'm worried I won't keep it up if I have to do this as I won't always have dairy on-hand as no one can drink it here.

I really want to be successful with the real grains as they're supposed to be so much more healthy than the starter stuff.

Any advice appreciated!!

[stilllearning85]

The grains will not grow in the coconut milk, but they shouldn't die.. for a while anyway. I know that you can use dairy grains to make water kefir, and they do this same thing. They no longer grow, but still turn the substance into Kefir. HTH!

[kcocat]

Oh bummer! I guess I'll have to come up with some system to alternate w/milk, which means I'll have to continue to buy more cow milk.

I might be able to drink it w/o problems (I tolerate dairy better than my girlie does) but I'm having MAJOR issues getting past the smell and slightly funky taste compared to coconut milk kefir which is super sweet smelling & very tasty in smoothies, etc.

I'm using raw milk - perhaps it makes the smell more funky?? I'm giving goat milk a go also, and it definitely smells more "milky" vs. funky farm smells....

[quietserena]

From what I know, for any non-milk use, you want to use water kefir grains.